Can't Think of What to Write, So I'll Let Them do it:

"The thing I have to work on in myself is this issue of belief. Gandhi believed Jesus when He said to turn the other cheek. Gandhi brought down the British Empire, deeply injured the caste system, and changed the world. Mother Teresa believed Jesus when He said everybody was priceless, even the ugly ones, the smelly ones, and Mother Theresa changed the world by showing them that a human being can be selfless. Peter finally believed the gospel after he got yelled at by Paul. Peter and Paul changed the world by starting small churches in godless towns." – Don Miller

"I mean that to be in a relationship with God is to be loved purely and furiously. And a person who thinks himself unlovable cannot be in a relationship with God because he can't accept who God is; a Being that is love. We learn that we are lovable or unlovable from other people. That is why God tells us so many times to love each other." – Don Miller

"The church has been preoccupied with the question, "What happens to your soul after you die?" As if the reason for Jesus coming can be summed up in, "Jesus is trying to help get more souls into heaven, as opposed to hell, after they die." I just think a fair reading of the Gospels blows that out of the water. I don't think that the entire message and life of Jesus can be boiled down to that bottom line." – Brian McLaren

"My goal is to destroy Christianity as a world religion and be a recatalyst for the movement of Jesus Christ," –Erwin McManus

“I think it is worth saying again that theology is not the same as the story of God. Far too often, in my opinion, this becomes an issue, and when one disagrees with our theology, we can too easily assume they have abandoned Scripture or the story of God. Theology is explanatory - answering certain questions or addressing certain issues. But it must never be confused with the life of God or the story of God” – Doug Pagitt

"Too much debate about scriptural authority has had the form of people hitting one another with locked suitcases. It is time to unpack our shorthand doctrines, to lay them out and inspect them. Long years in a suitcase may have made some of the contents go moldy. They will benefit from fresh air, and perhaps a hot iron." – N.T. Wright

This is probably my favorite of the group:

"The point of following Jesus isn’t simply so that we can be sure of going to a better place than this after we die. Our future beyond death is enormously important, but the nature of the Christian hope is such that it plays back into the present life. We’re called, here and now, to be instruments of God’s new creation, the world-put-to-rights, which has already been launched in Jesus and of which Jesus’ followers are supposed to be not simply beneficiaries but also agents." – N.T. Wright

What I Wish I Had Blogged About

So I’ve been on a blogging hiatus, but I am not making a real attempt to get back to it, so the two of you who read this will have that to look forward to. There have been a number of things that I would have liked to comment on here on my online podium, but I know that I will never give them each the treatment they deserve. Never-the-less, Here are the top 5 things I wish I would have blogged on (and a summary of what I would have said). In no particular order:

1. Jatropha. Heard of it? Me either! At least not until recently. But it seems to be worth hearing about. Jatropha is a neat little plant (actually, there are several varieties) who’s nuts produce an oil that can be used as fuel. Three reasons why this is a big deal: 1. It burns clean. Unlike our terrorist-provided oil it doesn’t pollute as it is used. 2. It comes from Latin America and the Caribbean. They grow it in India too, I think. The double bonus here is that these shamefully destitute places may have found a way to make some money, while our frenemies in OPEC will be losing some. 3. Unlike ethanol, cultivating jatropha won’t drive up food prices because you can’t eat it, so there is no competition.

2. Chimps Should Live in Trees. More to the point, they shouldn’t live in houses. And they shouldn’t share your bed or drink wine with you because THEY GO NUTS AND PEOPLE GET HURT. As a general rule, I’m not a fan of animals in cages (and a house constitutes a cage for a chimp. For that matter, so does almost every exhibit at the zoo, including the Portland zoo and most especially the Boise zoo). Now, to be fair, I have had “caged” pets before. My tarantula, for instance. But he (or she, I never asked) lived in a 65 gallon aquarium. I’ve had pet rats, and their cage was two stories and almost as big as my bed. The point is, if you cage any creature, or treat it as anything other than the creature it is (a chimp is not a human, for instance), bad things happen.

3. Ted Haggard is an Insurance Salesman. This honestly makes me very sad. I’ve never thought of myself as having a whole lot in common with Haggard (even less now), but as president of the NEA he was one of the family, you know? Granted, he was dishonest and immoral and absolutely should have been removed from his position as president and as pastor of New Life Church, but even then he should have been able to turn to the church for help. Instead, they literally kick him out of Colorado (they later changed their minds on that one). Look, guys, Jesus was not very image-conscious, so get over yourself and help the guy out. And Ted, don’t ever think about preaching again.

4. Christian Bale is a Jerk! You have probably heard by now about his little tirade on the set of the new Terminator movie (unrelated note: Really? Another one?). He threw a temper tantrum like a little girl and humiliated an employee on the set. Apparently he believes he really is as special as our celebrity-worshipping society has told him he is. Assistant Director and Associate Producer Bruce Franklin is defending him though, saying he was interrupted during a very emotional scene (in a Terminator movie?). Sounds like Bruce is hoping Christian will want to work with him in later movies. Not likely Bruce. The whole thing kind of reminds me of Alec Baldwin’s verbal abuse of his daughter in which he called her a pig (amongst other things) in a phone message. Celebrities really are different from us.

5. Obama Opposes Reinstituting the Fairness Doctrine. Good on you, Mr. President. You are now entitled to a tirade because you are special. The Fairness Doctrine was adopted in 1949 and held that broadcasters were obligated to provide opposing points of views on controversial issues of national importance. It was halted under the Reagan administration. What it comes down to is that at the very least it gives whiners a chance to whine and at its worst it provides a legal way to force others to support your point of view. Maybe I’ll send Obama a thank you note and few suggestions for some other ways to really wow the public is his first 100 days. Oh hell, I’ll just run for president in 2016.

One last thing….we’ve bailed out big business (i.e. gave them those bonuses they SO deserved), we’ve bailed out the car makers, we’ve bailed out those banks who can’t be bothered by people such as myself, and now we’re bailing out homeowners who shouldn’t have bought the house in the first place because you couldn’t afford it. Where’s my bail out?

Aborting Barack

“A South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect supports abortion, and supporting him "constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil."
The Rev. Jay Scott Newman said in a letter distributed Sunday to parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville that they are putting their souls at risk if they take Holy Communion before doing penance for their vote.”

Hmm….I think I have a few issues with this. But before I mention them I feel like I should, once again, clarify my fundy stance on the issue. I don’t like abortions, I’ll go on record as saying that they’re not good; when I run for president in 2016 I will run as a pro-life candidate. I have said many times that the church needs to be the church and the state needs to be the state and that the church is in the position to do the most good when it is not trying to be political, and I think that is true about the issue of abortion as well. However, abortion happens to be an issue where the use of the political process can be valuable, and I’m not limiting that to laws banning abortions but rather government programs that prevent the need for abortions and serve as alternatives for it. Further, a politicians stance on this issue is a big deal to me, a very big deal, actually. I am not pleased with Barack Obama’s position on abortion and it was the subject of much reflection before I voted for him.

And that brings me to my first issue with Rev. Jay. Why have you highlighted this particular issue above any others, Reverend? Again, I bet both RJ (Rev. Jay) and I have the same basic view of abortion. It causes trauma to the mother, often times the father, and also to the doctor and nurses who perform the abortion, and it kills another human being. But what about arrogantly sending young people overseas to kill and be killed in the name of machismo? What about taking money away from programs designed to feed children and house the homeless so that the wealthy can have their tax break? Is that not sin? Human beings like to rank sin, to make some sins worse than others; God doesn’t do that: sin is sin.

RJ goes on to say that “voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exits constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil…” I don’t think so, RJ. I think we live in a fallen world and sometimes the right choice doesn’t exist. I think we are able to make the “most right” choice, but evil permeates this world and this world is governed by politicians, and thus I am forced to try and figure out what is most right. This is, in large part, a matter of conscience and this is between me and the Holy Spirit, not me and the priest (or pastor).

Telling someone that he or she shouldn’t or can’t take communion is bold and rather risky. To do so assumes a certain level of authority that I don’t think Scripture grants. By all means, RJ, we need to proclaim truth, fight for the good and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, but let us not presume to speak for God where he has not first spoken.

Oh, catchy blog title, huh? An attention-getter, I think.

Some Early Christmas Cheer (or whatever)

My relationship with Santa has been a bit like riding a Christmas roller coaster over the years. There has been twists and turns, hills and valleys, and times when we have just been plugging along as calm as could be, content with our relationship, only to hit a surprise curve or sudden plunge. The roller coaster has more or less settled into a nice, gentle, “It’s a Small World” type of ride in recent years, though with the relatively recent addition of a child to the family I anticipate some bumps and curves ahead.

When I was very little I was, as most kids are, quite fine with Santa. I think I even wrote him a letter or two back in the day. I honestly don’t remember a time when I really believed in Santa, though my parents would insist otherwise (I DO remember a time when I used to humor them about my belief in Santa though). While we weren’t exactly tight, Santa and I had a good, working relationship ion my childhood.

But then I started to grow up. Santa and I gradually became more and more cold toward one another as I didn’t like the way he was infringing on Jesus’ big day. Along around college time I came up with and admittedly mean, albeit I think funny, nick name for the big guy: Satan Clause. The right jolly old elf wasn’t laughing about that one. Besides, the guy was starting to creep me out. “He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake,” that just screams dirty old man to me. “He knows if you’ve been bad or good SO BE GOOD FOR GOODNESS SAKE!” Scary and threatening I say. It was about that time that I saw a clever little display protesting the commercialism of Christmas:

Ha. Still makes me laugh a bit. But seriously, we are kidding ourselves if we think that Jesus is the reason for the season. These days, your credit card is the reason for the season. But back in the day Jesus wasn’t the reason either-Mithras was. Mithras is a nasty little pagan bull-god whose birthday happens to be on December 25th, and he knew how to throw a good party. So good, that all the newly converted Catholics still wanted to party so the Pope let them, just so long as the celebrated Jesus’ b-day instead.

All this had made me rather cynical toward St, Nick and the phallic symbol we put in our living rooms every December and the holiday as a whole, but then…..I met the man. I met Santa at a Muslim Christmas party; I know, shouldn’t really go together, right? But that’s what it was. A big group of Muslim refugees coming into a church (or more accurately a warehouse with a cross and some ugly Awana banners used as a church) to have a Christmas party, complete with three well adorned phallic symbols and a Santa. The children sat on Santa’s lap, told him their hopes, their favorite school subject, that sort of thing. Then they got a present and very often a hug. There were a few teenage girls who sat with Santa, giggling incessantly the whole time and getting their pictures taken. I saw a community of people who are often lacking in good things come together to receive joy and fellowship from each other and love from the church (the church!). I saw little kids get an extra hug and some extra attention from a caring adult and I got to be part of an event that truly helped people move closer to the love and grace of Christ. Santa wasn’t hindering, he was helping, and at least on this day Jesus was the reason for the season. I gave in:

Oh Santa, you done good. So, what will I tell my daughter about Santa Clause when she gets old enough to ask? And how will I explain the Jesus connection? I really love that little book “Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Clause” and of course the letter to the little girl that is the heart of the book. I’m not going to try to pretend that the man actually exists because, well, that’s weird. But, lest I be “affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age” (from the letter) I will gladly embrace Santa from now on.

What about Jesus? Well, to be perfectly frank, it’s not his birthday and I don’t intend to ever pretend that it is. But what I can do is celebrate the miracle of God himself becoming incarnate to establish a new covenant of grace. I can celebrate the miracle of God keeping the lamp burning for eight days so the temple could be purified when there was only enough oil for one day, I can celebrate the miracle of Nicholas of Myra, a man devoted to his faith in God who consistently displayed both courage and generosity. I can celebrate the miracle of a little girl who tried to be born too early but managed to stay put until nearly her due date. I can celebrate miracles, period.

Santa and I still have a little ways to go in working out our relationship, but I think in the end we’ll be ok-as long as he doesn’t spend too much time at the mall or doing commercials.

Scanning the Want Ads

I was just looking at some youth ministry positions because, well, I don't know why anymore. Anyway, I found some things I thought were interesting:

LIAR:
“We desire a relationally strong shepherd who loves students, families and leaders and wants to be part of a great team!”

Forgot to say that he needs to be young, have a wife that plays piano, enjoy basketball and football, know how to play silly games, and say “dude”

TOO MUCH:
“The successful candidate will have a college degree, preferably in Christian Education, Elementary or Early Childhood Education, a minimum of 5 years experience leading a children's ministry program, proven knowledge of curriculum methods and an impressive track record leading, recruiting, organizing and training multiple lay leadership teams.”

I’m wondering, all this for a part time position with almost no pay? Why would someone with all that experience be looking for such a position? Makes me nervous.

NOT ENOUGH:
“tolerance for kids and their parents”

Ha.

AMUSING:
“Title: Pastor or Director of Children’s Ministries. *Position title will be determined based upon experience, education and other demonstrated qualifications.”

Which one is holier? The pastor or the director?

UNDEFINABLE:
“Demonstrate the character traits of Jesus Christ”

Is your Jesus a Republican? A feminist? A Lutheran?

WOW:
“We invite all qualified male candidates from North America to apply”

No Africans allowed.

ANNOYING:
“Musical ability helpful”

Why?! Why must all associate positions include this in their qualifications?

CONTRADICTORY:
“Able to follow instructions of Pastor/Elders, Authentic/Real lifestyle”

What happens when I authentically disagree with the elders? Do you really want a Pastorbot?

Getting the Gays

The question of the validity of gay marriage has become one of the defining political questions of this generation, in the same manner that segregation was a defining political question in the generation previous. The question of a constitutional amendment on the federal level declaring marriage to be between only a man and a woman still lingers, while on a state level the question has already been answered in several places, including Oregon and California. In 2000 California voters banned gay marriage, a ban that was overturned by the California Supreme Court. A few days ago Californians voted on it again and again banned gay marriage, sparking several protests, particularly in front of LDS (Mormon) churches for their very public support of the ban. I think, based on what I have seen in the current youth culture, bans such as this will be relatively short lived. The emerging culture is self-defined as progressive, tolerant, and open-minded, and they will not tolerate what they perceive to be discrimination-and I think they’re right-mostly.

Let me say this, just to get it on the table: I oppose gay marriage. But I also oppose banning it. "‘People believe in the institution of marriage,’ Frank Schubert, co-manager of the Yes on 8 campaign said. ‘It's one institution that crosses ethnic divides, that crosses partisan divides. ... People have stood up because they care about marriage and they care a great deal’" (from Fox News). If we care about marriage, than we need to be supporting it in a way that will really matter as opposed to the nominal support offered by political referendums. The institution of marriage belongs to the church, not the government; no matter how right or just or popular a law is, it will never be capable of sanctifying anything. As one who is attempting to live life in the way of Jesus, I oppose gay marriage and I would never perform a wedding for a gay couple, regardless of whether the law instructed me to do so or forbade me from doing so, it is a mute point.

Having said that, it IS the government’s job to ensure that all citizens, regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation receive equal rights under the law. This includes essentially benign issues like filing a joint tax return to much more profound, impactful issues such as who has the right to make decisions when their partner cannot make the decisions for themselves. This is what civil unions are for, to establish equal protections under the law for committed couples. To those who would support a ban on gay marriage on religious grounds I would make three points:

1) God already bans it, so what’s the point of putting into secular law? Homosexuality is one of a myriad of issues where my faith speaks but the government is (or should be), rightfully, silent.

2) In getting a government ban on ghay marriage, have you done for the gay/lesbian individual to lead him or her closer to Christ? Do you think that by banning a legal recognition of their partnership they will suddenly repent and come to Christ? If the answer to these questions was no, then what was the point?

3) What possible good are you doing for the Kingdom of God as a whole by getting your state to ban gay marriage? It is trivial, because it is temporal. Collecting signatures, going to the voting booth, holding picket signs, all these things are really rather easy to do, and as is most often the case with things that are easy to do it is also rather meaningless. If we want to support the institution of marriage and make an impact for the Kingdom then we need to do the hard work of building the church up, not the easy and pointless work of tearing outsiders down. Provide premarital/marriage counseling and workshops, mentor engaged couples and young people, provide a safe, non-judgmental, grace filled atmosphere for all people to come to know the love of Christ. Earn the right to speak truth by doing the work of love.

Please, comment.

Random Thoughts on the Church and Crazy People

Ugg! I have tried to write for a long time now, but I am having blogger’s bloc. To try and combat that I figured I would just sit at the computer and babble (or whatever the equivalent of babbling is when typing) and see what comes out.

There are two things that have been on my mind lately. The first thing is the church (not that this is anything new, “church” is always on my mind), or more specifically, the emerging church. Two observations on this: First, I am not an expert on the emerging church. Though I am trying to become more educated, reading various e-zines and blogs both for and against (I would read the books but then I would have to pay for them) and chatting with whoever will chat about such things. Still, owing in part I think to the “emerging” and therefore changing and morphing nature of the emerging church, I am no expert. The other thing I have discovered in my studies so far (this is observation number two) is that nobody else seems to be either. Ok, let me back off that a bit. There are people who seem to know their stuff, but I have rarely found anyone who is able or willing to do an even-handed treatment of the movement. I see a lot of finger pointing from the more traditional camps, almost all of which is inaccurate in substance. On the other hand, a lot from the emerging movement is doing the same thing, blaming any spokesman of the traditional church they can find for the various ills therein.

This is not unique to the emerging/not emerging groups. When I was in college we spent a lot of time making fun of the “ridiculous” theological positions of the Calvinists and arming ourselves against the liberals. When I got to seminary I found a group of Calvinists predetermined to defeat my Arminian viewpoints. The mental image I have of all this is a bunch of wannabe theologians standing with their backs to each other, pointing at the various differences, or more often the caricatures of the differences, when what they should be doing is facing each other and pointing at the similarities that bind us. It’s not as if this a new thought to anyone, it’s just been bugging me (again) lately.

Here is the other thing on my mind these days: Mary (I made that name up, it’s not her real name). “Mary” is a client that we discharged last week. She had been previously court committed to mental health treatment, but the commitment was dropped and she chose to leave our facility and return to the drug infested, nasty little home she was in before, living with her mom who is not much higher functioning than Mary is herself. I have spent the better part of my time for the last few weeks trying to secure the girl services, make sure she is taking her medications, make sure she isn’t using drugs or prostituting herself, and a myriad of other things that fully functioning individuals don’t really think about, the just do it as a matter of course. I am frustrated that it is so hard for Mary to get services, I am frustrated that the people that are supposed to help her are saying they don’t have the time or resources to do the job (like I do?!). I am frustrated that we live in a society that buys $4.00 lattes but lets its mentally ill waste away, pleasantly out of sight.

I am frustrated that the church is wasting its energy calling each other names instead of stepping up to the plate and taking care of the vulnerable, the disenfranchised, and the outcast. I am frustrated that it feels like all I can do is be frustrated.

Team America

Blah. I haven’t blogged for a long time-too busy worrying about losing the house. We’re still not out of the woods (actually, we keep going farther in) but I feel like blogging anyhow.

So my lack of finances has gotten me thinking about finances and economics in general, which got me thinking about politics, which made me think about these Obama and McCain guys. I’m really not sure who I’m going to vote for yet, though the addition of Palin to the Republican ticket has certainly nudged me more in one direction (to the left). To be honest, I don’t really like a whole lot of what either of them have to say, and what I do like I don’t trust them on; that is to say, promises are easy to make, harder to carry out. And what I really, really don’t appreciate is how I feel like I am in jr. high again whenever I listen to them debate or see one of the commercials. How am I supposed to feel good about two guys running for president of the United States that get caught up playing the stupid “gotcha” games that the rest of us (well, most of us) got over after eighth grade?

I came to the conclusion long ago that the man himself, that is, who the actual president is, isn’t going to make a whole lot of difference in the political landscape. What I am voting for when I vote for president isn’t really based on which candidate I like better, but on which sphere of influence I find most valuable. For example, McCain will most likely fill his cabinet with conservative thinkers and appoint conservative judges and listen to the conservative groups that helped him get elected. Obama will do the same with his liberals. So my vote isn’t for a man, it is for an ideology, and once again I do not line up with either one. Rather, I find myself wanting to pick and choose from each, as well as eliminating several tenants from either side.

Abortion, for example: I fall in line with conservatives. On the environment I am more of a Democrat. I think guns should be controlled, but I also think that faith-based charity groups should be supported in every way possible, including through public funds. I don’t think cutting taxes for the sake of cutting taxes is good, but neither do I think that money will solve the ills of the various groups that keep asking for more. I support the idea that everyone ought to be able to see a doctor when they need to without worrying about the cost, but I don’t think that as a society we can afford to foot the bill for that. And as far as gay marriage, well, why did we ever give government the right to have any voice in marriage to begin with?

So here is the point I am at now, and I know this is nothing new but I think it bears repeating, at least to myself: the government will never be able to solve moral problems. That’s the church’s job. We will never, for example, stop abortions by making them illegal. But the church could do a better job of teaching about the sacredness of life and supporting pregnant mothers and encouraging adoption. This is one of many areas where the church has given up its voice to the government, asking the politicians to do the work of the saints and then bemoaned them for their involvement. I guess what it comes down to is that I am separating the issues into two categories: that of moral imperatives and that of political preferences (or, if you are feeling more dogmatic, political imperatives). I realize this break down is not perfect, but I think it more or less works. Those things which my convictions, my faith, my belief that Christ came and will come again tells me are right or wrong, these are moral imperatives. If by way of happenstance or luck the government supports these convictions, great. But the energy I put into these issues is best channeled through the church. The category of political preferences, those things which I feel are best for me and for you and for the country but that stop short of being morally binding holds the issues that most influence my vote. Again, this is a hard line to draw and there will be some cross-over, but it’s where my thinking is at right now.

I guess that’s all I’ve got for now.

Revenge of the Big Dumb Puppy

So I was in the kid's room at church again, like a ink blotch of testosterone on an estrogen filled page. In the room with me was the same child I mentioned in the previous "Big Dumb Puppy" blog as the one whose snotty nose I wiped for her. I tell you, I never though snot could bring people together like this. I walked in, she gave me the biggest smile, and this formerly shy little girl played and talked with me until her adult came to get her. When she left she waved and smiled. God is so nice to me sometimes.

Take Back the Pulpit!

On September 26th, in an event supported by the Alliance Defense Fund, pastors around the country will intentionally preach a partisan, political sermon from the pulpit, thereby putting their church in jeopardy of losing their 501c3 status. The IRS requires that churches, in order to remain as tax-exempt non-profits, refrain from support of any candidate above another and it limits what can be said about ballot measures and the like. So on September 26th various pastors will be challenging that law by supporting one presidential candidate over the other and encouraging their congregants to vote for said candidate (there were no specifics as to which candidate that would be).

For my part, I do believe that “separation of church and state” is more often than not misused and churches are unfairly discriminated against. I also feel that pastors should absolutely have the right to preach in favor of one candidate over another and to speak about the moral ramifications of secular laws and the biblical principles that should guide our voting, I just think they should proceed with caution and discretion when exercising that right.

The missionary Jordan Grooms said, “If God called you to be a missionary, don’t stoop to be a king.” His words are apropos for all pastors and those within the spheres of influence in ecclesiastical circles, especially in an election year. The essence of Grooms statement is that politics, political change, just and right laws, while good, are also temporal. No matter how good of a leader we have in office, no matter how right and needed the legislation, it can not bring heart change, sanctification, or salvation. If you want to devote your time and energy to something really worthwhile, devote it to something eternal, devote it to the mission of Jesus.
If, as sometimes happens, the worlds of government and church intersect and create an occasion in which truth needs to be spoken, then by all means the church should step up to the challenge, as it has done in the past with issues such as women’s rights, racism, and poverty, whose impetus for change in each case began with faith. But the focus of the church’s message, always, must be Christ and him crucified and raised; this is the beginning of justice, hope, and change.

We do need to take back the pulpit, but it’s not the IRS that stole it from us. Nobody stole it, we just lost it. In place of biblical preaching we have self-help seminars on one end (thanks for the advice, Osteen!) and political rallies on the other (Pat Robertson for President!). In our day and age there are various means of communication open to us (you are reading one of them right now) and as citizens of this country we should use them as we see fit. But the pulpit, and the call to pastor, is sacred and should not be used to promote our political preferences, no matter how strongly we feel about them. If you have been called to be a pastor, do not stoop to be a politician.

Church Planting Stalkers

I just read this book about church planting, slightly outdated, but I thought it would be a good place to start. The author made several suggestions. Some of his ideas regarding the new comers:

1. They should be greeted and invited to a home group at least 4-5 times before they ever find their seat in the sanctuary,
2. Everyone needs to be given name tags, and
3. They should receive a phone call from the pastor on Sunday afternoon, a “porch” visit later that day from a member of the church, a personal thank you from the pastor by midweek, and a church newsletter by Friday.

Welcome to First Christian Church of Stalker. Seriously, God MUST exist if the church has survived this long.

Big Dumb Puppy

Bear with me for a moment, I need to complain. But before that I want to gloat just a bit. Yesterday at church I was working in the children's room. As far as I can tell I am the only male at Hawthorne who is in there, at least on a regular basis (last three weeks in a row and I think next week). We had some new kids yesterday and the week before that, ranging in age from 3 to 10 years. I talked to all of them (thus begins the gloating). All of them (excpet for one kid, who was really loud and, um, spirited) were timid and shy and reluctant to participate. I can relate! I am timid and shy and reluctant to participate and when I was their age I would have RUN AWAY rather than be put in a kid's room with people I didn't know. So, I gently, carefully, thoughtfully eased my way into their little protective bubbles and by the end of our time they were participating. I was really pleased that they felt comfortable enough to particpate and proud that I was able to help them feel that way.

And now the complaint. As I mentioned, I am the only male over 7 years old who is in there on a regular basis. When the gathering was over and all the mommies came to pick up their children, each and every one of them either looked at me a bit oddly or simply not at all, and this is when I was still playing with their children. Clearly I am working with their wee one, and yet they seek out the closest woman to ask how it went and to thank them for their hard work and yada yada. Hello! Do you see me?! I'm the one with your child! I even wiped snot off of one of their little noses!

Ok, as I have admitted before, I tend to be a bit sensitive about some things, this being one of them. But really, it's not as if I don't have good reason. There is a paper towel commercial that I see every now and then that is clearly aimed for the lady of the house, sympathizing with her about how she has to clean up after her kids and lamenting that husband's do such horrible work that the wife must inevitably come behind him and reclean.

I have more examples, but I know that complaining gets old so I'll stop (in a minute). Ladies, do not assume that we (guys) are big, dumb puppies when it comes to children and house work; and when we do a good job, as we (and you) should be expected to do, please don't act like we're dancing poodles.

Ok, I'm done. You can bring your kid over now-I'll watch him for you.

Mega Church = Mega Trouble

Before coming to Evergreen I was a part of a very large church in Damascus. After my normal introvert warming up period I became very involved in the youth ministry, helping to lead the jr. high group for a time as well as teaching two youth classes and attended various special events. There were well over 100 youth in the church and over 1000 adults, so it was a pretty big church. And I didn’t know hardly anyone over age 16 (and that’s just not healthy). Since we jumped ship for Evergreen the church has continued to grow and now has a separate “video venue” campus and multiple thousands in attendance-it’s a mega church.

When I was in high school I attended what I considered a large youth group of about 80. The size of the youth group was all that much more impressive since the whole church, counting the youth, had maybe 150 people. After five years at the church the youth minister moved on to plant a new church in Idaho. Starting with 50 people, they now have 5 campuses in three states and number around 10,000. This man was a spiritual mentor to me, a father figure in many ways, and now he is untouchable. There is no contact information, as he is a celebrity of sorts, and even if there was I doubt he would return my contact. A professor of mine from college, also a spiritual mentor to me and a major influence in my life, joined the staff there several years ago-never to be heard from again.

I have been trying to adopt the position that if someone is happy in their mega church and they are growing and serving, then bully for them-it’s just not my way. Right now I’m thinking a little more dogmatically, that mega churches just suck. As I was once again attempting to discover a way to contact these once important people in my life I came across a site badmouthing my former youth pastor. I have no doubt that this WOULD NOT have happened had he managed to start a small church that started other small churches-there is simply no reason to create an anti-my former pastor site if he is the pastor of a small church, no one cares how much you hate him. But if you screw up or piss someone off as a mega church pastor you bring trouble on the whole lot of us.

So for right now, mega churches suck.

It's About the People, Stupid

The other day I went to see my niece perform a role in “High School Musical” for the local children’s theatre. Children are terrible actors-we applaud anyway.

The show took place at my old high school in the auditorium that was built in the 1930’s. There is a new high school building now, with a new auditorium that is in every way nicer and more pleasant to sit in than the one we were in. Never-the-less, I found myself reminiscing and generating warm fuzzies for my old school (goes to show you how good the brain is at blocking out trauma). I remember watching many a school play in that large, amazingly hot room. I remember goofing around in there and hiding in there and debating many existential, political, theological, and personal ideas and issues, not to mention the day-to-day drama that was high school. My junior year I was friends with this really gorgeous girl. We had no romantic interest in each other whatsoever, but we did like to hang out from time to time. One night, neither of us having anything better to do, we went to a school production of something or other. She made a point of walking arm in arm with me, thus raising my social status dramatically and causing rumors that we both enjoyed. I went on my first official date with my wife there. We sat in the back and watched “Little Women.” It took my almost the entire play to get the courage to hold her hand. Sometime in my junior or senior year I was anxious to leave a crowded show; all the old people were taking their time. Rather than wait I decided to hop over the isles of wooden chairs. One of the chairs folded in on me and I managed to make a fool of myself, made all that much worse as a self-conscience high schooler. You would think I would have learned my lesson, but I went home from my niece’s performance with a scrape on my left ankle and a nasty bruise and scrape on my right shin.

There’s really nothing all that special about that auditorium. In fact, it’s really a nasty place. But the memories, the shared experiences, the emotions, insights, and revelations that happened there, these make it a special, almost sacred place to me. I can only imagine what it must be like for those that went to school there when the place was new (or newer). Places, things, these are nothing and they will cease to exist one day. But people, our connections to one another, these are lasting and transformational.

When I went to the middle east I went into a cave. It was dark and dingy and a little bit smelly. It was nothing, nothing but a cave that once house animals who pooped in it. And yet all I could do was stand there, trying to grasp where I was and what it was I was doing. The cave was nothing, but the man born in it some 2000 years ago, he is everything. At that moment I joined the millions (I’m guessing) who have walked through it, both emperors and peasants, believers and mere tourists, a community of pilgrims. The place was nothing, the people were everything.

So too with the church. I flinch every time I see someone place irrational value on some object in a church, whether a bible or a pulpit or a pew or whatever. So often part of this irrational elevation of objects includes keeping people away from it or keeping people quiet in it. Every time this happens any sacredness that was there is diminished because it is not the place, it is not the thing, it is the people. God did not make a cave or a book or a building in his own image, he reserved that sacred honor for us.

25 Theses

I have been working on these for several days, and I will continue to work on them, well, forever. As a relative newbie to the emergent mindset/theology/lifestyle I have yet to formulate any real concrete opinions specific to the emergent church; this is my attempt to do that. I certainly haven’t created anything new here, though I have made a point of staying away from similar material until I made my own, so it’s new for me. I have alternated between the terms “American church” and “contemporary church” since I haven’t decided which I think is more accurate. This is somewhat antagonist/defensive, but that’s just because of the genre. Anyway, here it is:


1. The American church, as well as the church in other industrialized nations, that is, the contemporary church, has relegated “church” to a place, a building, a weekly event, something that one ‘goes to.’ The emerging church, that is, the church that is emerging post-Evangelicalism into a postmodern culture, is to be understood as a community of people, the called out ones, those who have chosen to live life in the way of Jesus, including repentance (the turning away of sin) and faith and lifestyle.

2. The American or contemporary church has formed into an exclusive club, having set up artificial and subjective guidelines as how one becomes a member, believing that one has “made it” once membership is achieved and no more growth is necessary. The emerging church must tear down all barriers that scripture itself does not set up, including “membership” of the church. People are participants in the community, to one degree or another.

3. The American church has failed to recognize the social injustices that concern Jesus. The church has concerned itself with not appearing “too liberal” and with propagating itself and neglected the weightier concerns of Christ, to the detriment of society and the image of the Body of Christ within society. As the largest volunteer organization in the world, with access to abundant resources, the church must show its faith through action, caring for widows and orphans, the oppressed, the poor and needy, and the persecuted (of all races and creeds and religions).

4. While much of the church, commonly the conservative, fundamentalist, or Evangelical church, has neglected caring for the society in which it finds itself, another segment of the church, commonly the mainline denominations, have neglected the proclamation of the whole gospel, focusing instead only on what is pleasant to hear and/or promotes their cause. The emerging church must cling to the truth of scripture, to the proclamation of the death, atonement, and resurrection of Jesus, and to salvation through the same.

5. The church has become irrelevant to the people, speaking of and proclaiming that which is of little or no significance to those seeking truth and edification. Further, the church has sinned in trying to gain more members by becoming less like itself and more like the world around it, or it has ignored the people and separated itself, and in so doing has failed to engage in the mission of Jesus. The emerging church must be organic, coming out of the culture rather than forcing itself into it, serving as a visible, valuable, and contributing part of the culture and society from which it stemmed, even while remaining distinct in its ultimate vision, goal, and motivation.

6. The leaders of the church have failed to teach the Body of Christ and as a result the people are largely ignorant of scripture, ignorant of theology, ignorant of the things of Christ, and ignorant of the character of God. The leaders of the church have relied not on God and the bible but on programs and gimmicks; they have focused on growth in numbers above growth on people. The emerging church must teach people where they are with the expectation and plan that they will not stay there. The emerging church must focus on the growth within the individual, not the growth of individual people in the pews.

7. The church has sinned in its elevation of individuals, organizations, and programs above Jesus and the gospel. Too often has a group of believers disintegrated when their leader left, because they were led by a man and not by God. Too often are gift ignored and left to rot because they don’t mesh with the leader. The emerging church must seek to empower all who are willing with the skills needed to lead; let no person hold to any teaching or community as if it was actually his, let the 80/20 rule be shattered as individuals become participants in their community.

8. The contemporary church, if not viewing the leader as a celebrity, views him or her as an employee, the one paid to do all the work of the church and to please and entertain the masses in the pews. The emerging church must take seriously the priesthood of all believers, knowing that some are set apart so that they may be freed up to do the work of the ministry full time but that none are exempt from doing ministry as far and as often as they are able.

9. The church has come to have a bad reputation amongst non-believers. It is seen as judgmental, oppressive, interfering, dangerous, and hypocritical; the term “evangelical” has come to take on more political than ecclesiastical connotations The emerging church, through its commitment to social justice, to the welfare of those in the community, to the welfare of those in the larger community, and through its welcome to all people, regardless of where they are in faith and life, must come to be known as scripture calls upon the people of God to be known, by their love.

10. The American church, in particular the more vocal and more “right wing” parts of the church, has neglected the proclamation of the gospel for the proclamation of political doctrines. While the emerging church recognizes that our convictions will inform our politics, and that life in the way of Jesus cannot exclude any element of life, including politics, it knows that the mission of the church is to reveal Christ, not create to legislation.

11. Worship is, in large part, service-service to God and service to others. But the term “service,” as related to the church, has come to be known as an event in which the masses come to be served and “fed.” Understanding the power of words to convey meaning, the emergent church adopts the term “gathering” to more rightly reflect what is taking place: the gathering of participants in the community of faith for worship, prayer, teaching, and fellowship.

12. The contemporary church is fractured into denominations, often competing and bickering with one another, each one knowing little about the other and many claiming to be the only one that is right. The emerging church must seek to remove the barrier of denominations, choosing instead friendship, cooperation and dialog with brothers and sisters of all denominations, knowing that we can learn much from each other and together we can further the kingdom with greater speed, skill, and effectiveness than if we go it alone. We recognize that both as faith communities and as individuals we have the freedom in Christ to disagree and the obligation to remain connected.

13. While the American church has created the phenomenon of the mega-church, the emerging church sees this as essentially dehumanizing and a poor model for how to bring healing, equipping, and edification to believers. It is artificial in that they use the semantics of community but function as a corporation. They do not plant new churches but rather grow themselves and in so doing reveal a major failing in their missional mandate. We recognize that there are exceptions to the above statements, but that overall communities function best when they are small, when people have a chance to know one another’s stories, and when they feel close to their leader.

14. Mega-churches seek to grow themselves; emerging churches, recognizing that new churches are historically better at reaching people, seek to create new churches so that the kingdom of God my grow demographically, geographically, numerically, and spiritually. We do not wish to make carbon copies, but instead allow each new gathering of believers to take on an identity of its own.

15. The polity of the American church is one of top-down leadership, whether explicitly or functionally, by design or default. The masses come to watch and be led, the leaders come to work and grow their followers. The emerging church must seek out the leadership potential in each believer, discipling them to become biblically qualified leaders. Rather than searching from without the emerging church must build leaders from within.

16. The contemporary church assigns importance and influence based on non-biblical criteria, including one’s position in the secular world, pedigree, wealth, political agenda, and even intimidation. The emerging church must recognize those who live according to the biblilcal standards of an elder and do the work of an elder, recognizing them as elders.

17. While the contemporary church as access to an abundance of resources, the people remain stingy, placing the funding of themselves above the funding of the work of God and neglecting the tradition of the people of God in being generous. The emergent church must fund the work of the community generously, seeing that doing so is both God-serving and self-serving. Moreover the people must be generous with each other, clinging to nothing as their own exclusive possession.

18. The contemporary church has long focused on fact based, bullet point style teaching, expecting right knowledge to lead to right behavior but never getting the results they hoped for. The emergent church must recognize the value of narrative and experience, informing each other’s stories and telling the story of God and experiencing transforming relationship with God and his people.

19. Scripture and the Spirit have influenced and informed art from the beginning of time, yet the contemporary church has neglected the use of: design, painting, drama, dance, poetry, in worship. The emerging church must embrace and encourage the artistic gifts God gives to his people and utilize them for fuller, more complete worship.

20. Every church and denomination has traditions; the American church has either rejected tradition outright or clung to it irrationally. The emerging church must value the writings, prayers, and traditions of those who came before us, learning from them and applying them to daily life, submitting them to the authority of scripture, setting aside (though not rejecting) that which is no longer relevant, and maintaining a familial link to our predecessors.

21. The contemporary church has separated itself from culture, vilified that which does not come from them, and propagated a tired and useless “us verses them” mentality. The emerging church must recognize that it is not “us verses them,” but rather “us and them,” thus maintaining our distinction but remaining open to learning from one another and working toward a common good. We recognize it as sin to not cultivate real relationships outside of the church as well as inside.

22. Of the course of many, many years, the contemporary church has whittled away communion, that is, the gathering together at the Lord’s Supper. It has become only a bite of bread or cracker and a sip of wine or juice, often taken thoughtlessly if at all. While the emerging church must continue to recognize the value of these symbols and participate in the partaking, so too must it recognize that communion has always included fellowship and sharing in each other’s stories.


23. The American church has maintained artificial distinctions between the genders which are no longer relevant or useful in today’s society. While recognizing that there are certain distinctions, the emerging church must move toward an egalitarian position.

24. The American church has largely neglected the children and youth, viewing them as the “church of tomorrow” when they are in fact the church of today. They have substituted entertainment for teaching and games for ministry. The have failed to allow the young people to go through the necessary developmental stages and search out their own faith. The emerging church must recognize that children and youth are valuable, contributing members to the work of God, worthy of ministry and capable of the same.

25. The contemporary church is satisfied that the work of theology is done, that there is no thinking left to do. The emerging church must continue the work of the Reformation, fleshing out for today’s culture and society sola scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia, Solus Christus, and soli Deo Gloria. We must view these not as a history lesson but as a current plea.

Here I stand. God help me.

C'Mon Joel! Get That Wife to Submit!

Oh my goodness. I guess this happened some time ago, but it's really all hitting the fan now. According to accusations and a report by the FAA, Victoria Osteen, Joel's wife and co-pastor of Lakewood Church, assualted a flight attendent on Colorado flight prior to takeoff by slamming her against a wall and elbowing her in her left breast because she was not satisfied with the manner in which a stain from a spilled drink was cleaned off her seat. Some of the reports I read quoted other passengers describing her as a diva and "abusive." The flight attended asked to have the Osteens (well, Victoria at least) removed from the plane, though a church spokesperson said they left voluntarily and that it was "a mutual thing." All in all the flight was delayed for about 2 hours. Victoria was fined $3,000 by the FAA for "interfering with a crew member." Do you suppose that can be a tax write off?

The poor flight attended is now suing Vicki for 10 percent of her net worth (don't know how much that is. I really wanted to wag my finger at the Osteen's for this, but I'm going to need two wagging fingers now. The flight attendent "claims that she suffers from anxiety and hemorrhoids because of the incident and said her faith was affected. She is also suing Osteen for medical expenses for counseling." Hemorroids? Really? I would think that as a flight attendent she would work with jerks on a regular basis-not that it's ok, but seriously, grow up. And Joel, get her under control, she's embarassing us.

Community is Hard

Jenny, India and I were able to be a part of Evergreen’s first “combined gathering” the other day. We didn’t get to hear any of the teaching as we were with the kids, but I assume it was brilliant. The house was rather brilliant too; I covet it now and am plotting ways to make it my own. While we were working with the children someone had the idea that we should read a story about baptism to all the wee ones so that they might understand a little bit better what was going on (incidentally, I wrote about baptism on my theology blog-I can’t remember if what was any good). I thought the baptism story was an excellent idea, but as it turns out our little book didn’t have any stories about baptism so I was left to tell the story of Jesus being baptized by John and hope I didn’t mess up lest hellfire and brimstone rain down. I’m pretty sure I didn’t mess up. When I got to the part about the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus one small child, for whatever reason, thrust his shark toy into the air prompting Jenny to add “in the form of a shark.” I denounced her as a heretic and was ready to continue the story but my momentum was gone so we just let it sit. I think they learned something.

I was really quite comfortable, if a little bit worn out, working with the children. It was the lunch afterword with everybody that was difficult. India, my little extraverted, unencumbered, uninhibited, totally independent daughter went everywhere and talked to many a person while my lunch lay lingering in the grass unappreciated and uneaten. Victoria graciously agreed to watch her for a while, but that lasted about ten minutes (I can’t blame the kid, it’s just that I was so looking forward to finishing my hot dog while it was warm). So off we went again, India talking to everybody, hitting a few of them, and me being my little introverted self. I am an introvert, which means I hate people. Ok, no it doesn’t, but one of the implications IS that I am not all giddy about being in a big group and I am not naturally inclined to seek out someone to talk to. I LOVE the idea of community, love it, love it, love it-I just can’t seem to DO it.

We are not meant to go it alone-even I don’t want to be completely alone. God is in community with himself (that whole Trinity thing) which leads me to believe that part of our desire for relationships is based on that image of God inside of us, the image of the inherently relational God, desiring to be with others. The church that Jesus built began as community-11 men and their ladies (or whatever) began as a community. It grew as a community. Evangelicalism has talked about community forever, but they haven’t gotten over the prevailing culture of privacy, independence, and consumerism; and I know that part of what makes Evergreen work, part of that something that I can’t quite put a finger on, is that there is authentic community.

Now I just have to try and be a part of it. Part of the problem is that I just can’t believe that anyone actually cares to have me; it’s this prevailing thought in my head, a voice that keeps whispering to me every time I try to approach someone. So I find a clever way to overcome it-I use my kid. She’s cute, she evokes smiles, and she’s a total chic magnet. Seriously, if I rely on her too much I find myself in the house with the girls talking about weddings and learning how to crochet while the men-folk are outside engaging in the macho sport of wiffle ball.

So I decide to be brave. I will leave the living room and venture to the yard and take my turn at bat. Out of five throws I manage to hit one, but it doesn’t roll very far. The eleven year old is better than me. Traumatic moments of middle school are rushing into my head. The people I am with this time are certainly nicer than middle-schoolers, but they look no less disappointed. Maybe I’ll go back and sit with the girls. Part of my brain realizes that all of the above is not nearly so dramatic in real life, but the other part really isn’t pleased with me for challenging its reality, but I digress…

Right after the Evergreen potluck (I did finally get to eat some food) we went to another potluck with some in-laws. I felt more-or-less comfortable there. I didn’t say much, but I’m the guy who doesn’t say much so it wasn’t a big deal. People asked about work and I asked people about whatever it was that I was aware of in their life. We ate, we hung out. Some of the people there I liked a lot, some not as much. I was proud of some, disappointed with others. People held my kid, I held other people’s kids (well, one kid). Community. It took me about 10 years to fit in like that with these people and I still have my insecurities.

I don’t want it to take 10 years to fit in at Evergreen. It’s already been a couple of years, but those were the most abnormal years of my life, so I don’t think they should count if that’s alright with everyone else. Don’t expect me to be all social butterfly, because that’s never going to happen (?) but I’ll try and say hello the next time I see you. Ask me about my kid, that will help a lot, but please, let’s not talk about crocheting.

Making my Olympic Debut

Ok, no I'm not. I used to fantasize about doing that though. I was going to be an Olympic wrestler and you could watch me on t.v. at 2:00 am since that's where the wrestlers are relegated to. Anyway, the Olympics will soon begin in Beijing. My first response to the Olympics being held in China was one of disappointment and anger. I was disappointed with those in charge of choosing who should get this honor, that they would so readily ignore the blatant human rights violations and environmental crimes of this great and oppressive nation. The anger was with China itself, for perpetrating these ills, for persecuting those who believe as I do, and for having the arrogance to think that I just won't notice these things because I am so taken aback by the beauty and history of the country (both of which, i have to say again, the current regime would like to either exploit or do away with). While my feelings of anger and disappointment still remain, I long ago changed my opinion as to whether or not the games should be held there. At this point I am glad to have it there because it has brought China's crimes to light once again (though it deserves much more coverage than it has received). I look forward to the "Free Tibet" banners being unfurled at the opening ceremonies and, with any luck, the protests in the streets. Hopefully too churches will take this opportunity to teach about what happens to the church in China, that churches are required to register and told what they can teach, that the officially sanctioned Christian church in China is not in fact Christian at all and that those who strive to follow the true faith must do so secretly and face imprisonment without trial. Silly Chinese government, the church is still growing.

Maybe I'll try a different sport. If only I were athletically inclined in some way. Or maybe we can pick the best protest of the coming days and give them a medal.

Snippet: I'm Wounded

I got a spiritual ass kicking yesterday. I totally wasn't expecting it, which was stupid. It was good for me, but I'm still a little sore.

Some Emergent Quotes (good and Bad)

"The church has been preoccupied with the question, "What happens to your soul after you die?" As if the reason for Jesus coming can be summed up in, "Jesus is trying to help get more souls into heaven, as opposed to hell, after they die." I just think a fair reading of the Gospels blows that out of the water. I don't think that the entire message and life of Jesus can be boiled down to that bottom line." —Brian McLaren, from the PBS special on the Emerging Church
(That was good)

"Emergent doesn't have a position on absolute truth, or on anything for that matter. Do you show up at a dinner party with your neighbors and ask, 'What's this dinner party's position on absolute truth?' No, you don't, because it's a non-sensical question." Tony Jones at the 2005 National Youth Workers Convention
(That was stupid)

"[W]e should stop to reflect and to treasure the words, to turn them over and over in our minds, repeating them ..."—Richard Foster, Renovare
(That was good)

“It is my opinion that tens of thousands of people, if not millions, have been brought into some kind of religious experience by accepting Christ, and they have not been saved.”- A.W. Tozer
(Good)

“Much of “traditional” Christianity gives the impression that God has these rather arbitrary rules about how you have to behave, and if you disobey them you go to hell, rather than to heaven. What the New Testament really says is God wants you to be a renewed human being helping him to renew his creation, [...]- N.T. Wright
(Ok)